By Karen Harding

There are many things to focus on in an interview, from keeping track of questions and answers to monitoring and observing non-verbal cues. But, if there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my career as a recruiter, it’s that you must be prepared for anything when interviewing.

Whether you’re starting the interview process, deciding between two candidates, or trusting a gut feeling, it’s always handy to have some tools in your back pocket, so you’re ready for (almost) anything that may happen in an interview setting.

With the recruitment season just around the corner, now is an excellent time to start preparing. And, to help you, I’m sharing six of my easy-to-remember interview tips and tricks that I keep at the ready.

1. First impressions count

Everything from how a CV is presented to how a potential candidate behaves in an interview forms that first impression. It’s important to remember that the first impression of any potential candidate is often just a piece of paper detailing their professional history. Of course, proper grammar and correct spelling are important, but meeting a candidate in person (or virtually) also plays a part too.

Very few interviews have been able to occur face-to-face over the past 18 months, and it’s a sign of the times we’re living in. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important to remember that while technology provides a means to connect, you still must do your due diligence when it comes to the recruitment process.

2. Where to start with a pile of resumes

Staring at a pile of resumes for a role may be daunting, but it means there’s been significant interest which is a positive start. Before culling, I first make sure I completely understand the role I’m recruiting for, then I deep dive and start reviewing. Look for something that stands out like experience, specific skills required for the position, and keywords – this will help to reduce the pile into the first cut. From this point, it will only get easier to manage.

3. Phone screenings – let the candidate talk

This is the most telling part of the recruitment cycle. Before calling the candidate, you have a pretty good idea of who they are from a piece of paper, and now you get to add more information to their profile. This is where letting the candidate talk about themselves will help piece the puzzle together as to how well they would fit the role. For me, this is where I find out the bulk of the information I need to know about the potential candidate. It might be called a phone screening but for me, it’s the first interview just without the face-to-face component.

4. Have some oddball questions ready to go

Asking nonconformist questions, framed for the role you’re recruiting, is an excellent way to get a candidate to think on their feet. These questions can be a great tool for diffusing nerves and tension in an interview, adding some laughter, and lightening the situation which can help everyone in the room or on a screen relax. An example of an oddball question: ‘How would you explain the sun to a blind person?’ While they aren’t needed in every situation, it’s always good to have one or two in your back pocket – you never know when you might need one! 

5. Gut feelings – trust them

They say that the gut is the second brain – a primal instinct that connects our minds with our stomachs – something which I find comes in handy when conducting interviews. From my observations in an interview, often tone of voice, posture, and other mannerisms trigger my gut instinct – this is very valuable and often quickly helps me to figure out if I’ve found the right candidate or not. In my experience, the first five minutes of an initial phone screening or first interview can spark the ‘they’re the one’ feeling or if it’s going to be a flat-out no. Of course, the decision to place a candidate in the interview process mostly comes from my professional assessment, but when you get a gut feeling, you have to trust it.

6. Could it be nerves?

Standard questions invite standard answers; however, they aren’t a roadblock; sometimes it’s just nerves, and you need to find a way to breakthrough. Probing standard answers with follow-up questions frequently uncover that the candidate has done their research, read the ad thoroughly and understood what the role is about. We’ve all faced nerves, whether it’s in a job interview or public speaking, and that’s normal!

Recruiting to fill a role can be a time-consuming process, but when you finally find the right fit with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, and personality everything is much simpler.

We believe HR should be simple. Simple enough for you to run your business confidently. Inside enableHR is everything you need to manage the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to managing your people and termination. If you’d like to see enableHR in action, contact us to learn more about how we can help your business.

Karen Harding is an Internal Recruitment Specialist for FCB (our sister company). Her 25 years of recruitment experience means she’s at home when she’s deep-diving into the intricate recruitment process of both client and candidate. Holding numerous positions within the industry, she has built recruitment desks from scratch many times in varying economic climates and still gets a thrill from making a job offer.